What hurts the Most
by AiriKatsu
Summary: One stormy night they both reflect: Vincent on the loves of past an present, and Yuffie of love unreturned, or so she thinks... Pure Yuffentine, small hints of Valencia


Katori: Yay! Oneshot parts Valencia and full Yuffentine! THIS IS A FULL PURE-BREAD YUFFENTINE REGARDLES OF HOW IT MAY START!

_You're really obsessed with this couple, I haven't seen you this way since that whole AmeliaXZelgadis thing from Slayers…_

Katori:….. Does that statement have a point Sin?

_Sin:….. nope… not really…._

Katori: Anyways**, WARNING! YOU _-MUST-_ DOWNLOAD THIS SONG:**

'_What hurts the most'_ Rascal Flatts

To understand this fic… well… probably not…. But it's a REALLY nice song and this IS a songfic that goes along to it so I advise you to listen to it.

_Sin: Last time we checked, KatoriTsubasa still doesn't own FFVII or any of the characters, she also does not own DoC or AC…. Along with a car, the song, the company 'Square Enix' or Vincent, Yuffie, Lucrecia, Tifa, the other members of Avalanche-_

Katori: OK SIN! They get the picture/pouts/ rated T for teen because Cid LOVES to swear and talks about more… _adult_… things. POST DIRGE OF CERBERUS!

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_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house _

_That don't bother me_

§§§§§§§§

The sound of rain surrounded him as he sat on the couch of the ShinRa mansion, listening to the dull sounds of the skyward tears hitting the roof. All was quiet save the rain, the small cracks of the fire hearth, and sometimes he could hear the distant roll of thunder. He closed his eyes and titled his head back, drowning out all but the drip-drop of the pouring element outside what he now called a permanent home.

Even though he was particularly close to the fire, there was a damp feeling surrounding him, perhaps from the wetness outside, or perhaps the sobering thoughts plaguing his mind. He felt extremely alone today, he felt himself distancing himself from everyone as of late.

Vincent Valentine sat on the soft black couch in the front foyer of the mansion with his back up against the arm, his one knee drawn up and his clawed hand rested on the bended knee. It was a comfortable position for him to sit in whenever he wanted to think and brood on what had been running through his mind lately.

Ever since that moment he decided on getting it, he knew that everyone had begun to be suspicious of him. Tifa regularly asked him what was wrong that had him so down lately, in all fairness, he had been a bit snappish lately, and the brunette bartender had fair game to ask him that. Even Cid and Barret had caught on rather quickly to his discomfort with the group, but no one knew that it wasn't the group that had him on edge, it was a certain someone, and their reaction.

His minds drifted back to the depressing thoughts that had started ever since that day a week ago. The nightmares of Lucrecia and Hojo's experiments had come back with a vengeance and even Chaos had voiced his annoyance at this.

Lucrecia, the first woman he had ever loved, the person he swore to protect and vowed to love with all of his being, the woman he had let down.

He decided he would much rather watch the rain and lightning from the window behind him instead of listening to it, so he swung his legs over the side of the couch and made to stand up. He walked around the back of the couch and trailed his claw on the soft plush he had just been seated upon.

§§§§§§§§

_I can take a few tears now and then _

_and just let them out_

§§§§§§§§

He slowly crept over to the window and leaned his back against the seal, crossing his arms across his chest and turning his gaze over his shoulder to watch the designs the trickles of water left on the window pane. He coud faintly remember the old saying 'Pathetic Fallacy', in which the definition was 'for nature to reflect the inner turmoil or emotions of a character'. This was usually used in plays or movies where there were raging storms when an villain was plotting something evil or when someone was happy and the sun is shining, bird chirping and flowers in bloom. Then, of course, there was when people were depressed, which usually was portrayed by rain and dark skies.

He thought the weather had done a nice job in portraying his problems.

Not many things could cause a reaction from the naturally stotic and calm man he was, but ever since the whole Geostigma and Chaos messes he had gotten himself into he found himself caring a bit more about his comrades. Lately more then ever did he feel his emotions being displayed more easily and openly with those in avalanche.

Yet nights like tonight still made him stop and reflect on all the things that had happened; most particularly the things he had once done with the beauty named Lucrecia.

§§§§§§§§

_I'm not afraid to cry _

_Every once in a while _

_Even though going on with you gone_

_Still upsets me_

§§§§§§§§

Many things flashed before his eyes when he thought of the stunning female scientist that had stolen his heart all those years ago.

All the times that he had talked with her and watched her dazzling smile light up his day, the times he held her and wanted to make all her pain go away, the graceful way she presented herself. He even recalled the times shortly after the engagement had been presented, including the heartbreak the regret and finally the intense pain as he died but yet, kept on living due to an almost fatal gunshot.

He would never forget Lucrecia, he knew that she would still stay with him, even though he had pretty much come to terms with her death a while ago. He knew she was still watching over him, and smiling down at him from the life stream beside Aeris.

And then there was the past year and a half he had spent at the ShinRa mansion to consider…

§§§§§§§§

_There are days every now and again _

_I pretend I'm ok _

_But that's not what gets me_

§§§§§§§§

Then he remembered the past 18 months he had spent fixing up the old mansion he had once been locked away in. Ridding the place of the almost never-ending supply of monsters, as well as fixing the old floor boards that his partner had fallen through, tripped over and into, and even ploughed face first against. By far the roof was the hardest thing to fix since it had to be completely re-shingled and that took a few weeks to finish and even in some parts remake. The most interesting thing that had happened was repainting it when EVERYONE came over to help and ended up with more paint on them then on the walls. The last step was refurnishing it as well… Not only did he have to put up with a _certain_ someone not approving of everything he picked, saying it was either 'too dark' or 'creepy looking'.

But the best memory that came to him of fixing it up was the last night after everything had been moved back in from Tifa's storage garage at the Bar. The day he had sat at his new kitchen table with a glass of red wine and the person who had helped him fix the place and not left since. He could still hear the small 'chink' of the two wine classes coming together in a toast to the new home.

No one would ever know that Vincent had secretly enjoyed every moment that they were there, even though on multiple occasions they ended up causing more work. He had to admit, regardless of this, there was a lot of hard work put in by the both of them.

But, he didn't know how he felt about it, all the laughter, all the grins, the clumsiness, the bouncyness. She was everything Lucrecia WASN'T and yet, over the past five months, everything she did made him smile softly to himself. She had reopened something in him he thought he would never see again. Maybe it was appreciation, or a sister-brother like fondness; yet he highly doubted it was just that; he secretly knew what it was.

He had grown accustomed to living with another person, and he knew this was a huge step for the both of them. Bow they were finished, and there was nothing else to do except for live, it was a concept neither of them had ever had the chance to experience.

He knew he still blamed himself for what had happened to Lucrecia, he knew he probably always would. However, living with her made it all the more bearable, he had barely thought of the sins of his past until he had started that train of thought a fortnight ago…

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_What hurts the most _

_Was being so close _

_And having so much to say _

_And watching you walk away _

_And never knowing _

_What could have been_

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The problem was that he had only had this thought once time before, and it was of course with his first true love. He knew that was the reason why he was bringing up his past in his dreams, even though they weren't as bad as the nightmares he had before.

His mind raced with all the things he could have said to stop her, or should have said either way. The pain of watching her walk away, from him and run off with someone who they both knew she didn't love nor did he love her back. It was all for the good of science, why shouldn't two scientists who are highly successful and have a passion for the same thing get married?

He had dreams of doing so much more, of what could have been if it wasn't for Hojo's insanity and his lack of courage. If only he would have asked her to be his girlfriend, or even more when he had the chance. He wondered vaguely of what he would be doing now if he and Lucrecia had lived together all those years ago… No doubt he would be about 50 something now, with kids, and a calm and peaceful life without having to worry about the fate of the world. He would have never joined Avalanche and would have been watching from the sidelines as the group of young people saved the world.

Even though BECAUSE of Hojo and his coffin years, he WAS one of the people who helped save the world THREE TIMES, he had MET Avalanche, gotten to know them all, talk with them.

If it hadn't been for Hojo, he wouldn't be in this situation right now.

§§§§§§§§

_And not seeing that loving you _

_Is what I was tryin' to do_

§§§§§§§§

He was wearing his normal bed attire, which included a set of dark blue pyjama bottoms with little chocobo designs on them in red thread that SOMEONE had refused to let him leave the store without, insisting that he needed a proper pair of night clothes. He also adorned a black t-shirt that was one size too big, considering that it was one of Barret's older shirts he didn't use and she had told him it was easy to move around in. according to her they were supposed to be comfy and not to heavy, unlike his regular attire.

He reached into his pocket of the pj bottom's and pulled out the small crimson velvet box and held it up. He ran his human hand's fingers over the soft material and flipped it upon to reveal a beautiful diamond ring with smaller red rubies encircling the larger diamond. It was a fair size, not something over-zealious, but it still got the point across.

Cloud had nearly fell off his chair when Vincent showed it to him, wondering openly how the gunslinger even had enough money after paying for his home renovations.

Cloud Strife was the only one who knew because he had confronted Vincent one night after everyone had gone to bed. Vincent felt that Cloud was the most trustworthy then any of the other men, then again, with Reno, Rude, Tseng, Cid, and Barret the choice wasn't a hard one to make…

§§§§§§§§

_It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you _

_Everywhere I go _

_But I'm doin' It_

§§§§§§§§

Yuffie lay up in her four poster bed, listening to the thunderstorm outside and watching as the flashes of lightning lit up her room. Her arms were clasped behind her head and she was blankly watching the roof of the newly furnished room. She wondered what the hell she was still doing there, why did she let herself be hurt by staying here?

Simple; she had no where else to go; Tifa had too much to worry about with Denzel, sometimes taking care of Marlene, Cloud, and now even Reno had moved into her house. Barret was always so busy with his work and wouldn't have a time or place for her, considering she would have to even get a job under him to even be able to make a conversation with him. He was much too entranced with his work to care about anything, aside from his beautiful daughter, who was now turning 11. Cid was out of the question, this Sherra pregnant and his renovations on the newest Seirra model for his airship.

That left her with Vincent, and a hell of a lot of problems regarding her true feelings for the man. She had stopped by one day to see if he was there; it was a simple meaningless gesture she swore it! But it turned out that he had wanted to fix up the place and that he didn't have much room for her to stay comfortably.

So what did she do?

She told him she would help, and regardless of his weak protests of not needing any help, she dropped her things off at Tifa's and then proceeded to annoy him until he gave in. Yuffie was glad she got her way, but they decided to keep it a secret from the other members of their group, it was something the two of them had completed on their own.

Throughout the past year and a bit she had helped him fix the once beautiful mansion into a newly renovated home.

She tried to keep her heart under check and not bother him with her feelings; she had come so close to ruining the newly built friendship they had made multiple times. Even though she kept on telling herself all of these reasons as to why she was staying and helping him. It was because of friendship, it was because no one else was helping, he needed company, he needed someone to help him pick out furniture because Leviathan knows he wanted the old fashioned creepy looking things. All of these excuses ran through her head at night and she seemed to settle with them every time.

She even allowed herself to hug him when a certain portion was done, or a helping hand that accidentally brushed up with his. It was so much for her heart to take, every time he looked pleased with anything she had completed her heart soared.

Yuffie had tried to convince herself that there was nothing between them, and just when she thought she was getting through to him he would get this far away look in his eyes and she knew. She would never win against the woman of his heart, even though she was already dead and past on. She would never have him, she had lost him before she even got him, and yet, she still stayed, that small flame of hope not smothering out.

§§§§§§§§

_It's hard to force that smile_

_When I see our old friends_

_And I'm alone_

§§§§§§§§

It had been unbearable sometimes, for her to walk over to Tifa's and for the ninja to see Reno hanging off of his new fiancé, or even Barret hugging his adopted daughter and new wife-like friend, even Cid and Sherra had become more intimate. Gods, she saw the way Marlene hung off of Denzels every word and tagged along with him wherever he went, no matter what he said, Yuffie knew the 13 year old loved it. Rude and Elena had this small thing going on, and Tseng had 'retired' and went back to like in Kalm with his wife and baby boy; who knew?

She never had anyone, she always felt like an extra wheel to them, even though Cloud was never there, she knew his love for Aeris still ran deep and strong. His love for Tifa was that of a protective brother, and the same to the children that they lived with.

Of course Vincent still loved Lucrecia, who wouldn't? The girl was smart, pretty, elegant, sophisticated, charming… And what was she? The brat Ninja, that's what…

She had never had anyone who loved her, her mother died when she was young and sometimes she could barely recall the mothers love she had once had the pleasure of having. Her father may seem like he cared, but he never wanted anything to do with her until she brought back materia, he had love for her sure; with conditions.

She didn't ever have time to grow up with kids her age, she was too busy training or studying. She had spent many nights crying herself to sleep as she knew other kids her age were worried about playing, boys, styles that were out; _kid _stuff.

She would never have anyone, not even after she redeemed herself by saving the world a couple times, why was it that everyone else had someone and she didn't? Was that fair?

She supposed it was about time she let her childish dreams of a fair world and a honorable Wutai slip away; neither would ever happen. Considering the fact that she had been banished for refusing to marry the man Godo had chosen for her to marry.

That was the whole reason why she had shown up at the ShinRa mansion; in search of somewhere to live or someone to talk to.

§§§§§§§§

_Still Harder _

_Getting up, getting dressed, _

_Livin' with this regret _

_But I know if I could do it over_

§§§§§§§§

The plans for repairing the mansion had taken all but a week to figure out; first they needed to get rid of the fiends infesting it. That had taken around a month to complete since they had to find where they were originating from then clear out the rest of the matured ones.

They had to clear out all the furniture and stowed it away in Tifa's old storage garage that she never used. Before they could start fixing the floor boards and rotten walls they had to test the strength of them.

She traced the scar on her leg that had resulted from a careless tumble through the stairs leading up to the second floor. She had been grateful that nothing was broken after that fall, it hurt her butt a lot too, but Vincent had been more worried about the large gash in her leg and insisted to bandage it.

After a half a year, the place was safe to walk in and was properly cleaned of all mildew, dust, grime and bugs thanks to Yuffie and her cleaning skills. Though, in _all_ honesty, she had never really cleaned a house before, but she had seen Tifa clean her house and helped her do it on a few occasions, but never on her own. Yuffie would clean and Vincent would fix the decaying wood, she worked from the bottom up and he worked from the top down. So after that they brought in two beds for the bedrooms and Yuffie and Vincent had moved into the two bedrooms on the top floor

Yuffie had to clean out the bathrooms still, but they managed to hook up a water and sewage line thanks to a few friends of Yuffie's that were plumbers. Thankfully they had running water and could live in the house, but just barely, they still needed to replace the old appliances in the kitchen and therefore, they had to eat out all the time.

They had sent for a washer, dryer, tub, oven, and even a blender, all which came in at around the seventh month mark, shortly after Yuffie had finished cleaning the bathroom, so everything worked out in that perspective.

Next was the easier parts of renovating the house, such as the painting, refurnishing, and fixing up the yard.

Gil was never an issue for the two of them considering all the money they picked up on their travels and stowed away. They had over nine hundred _billion_ gil between the two of them, even though Vincent had been apprehensive of using Yuffie's money.

It was around that point in time that Yuffie said she would move in with him permanently after the house was finished. And after a week of thought about it, Vincent agreed to let her stay, assuming it was only fair after all the work she had put in.

§§§§§§§§

_I would trade give away_

_All the words that I saved in my heart _

_That I left unspoken_

§§§§§§§§

Living with Valentine was an easy concept on the outside, he wasn't pushy and he didn't ask her a lot of questions, they would share small conversations about the house in passing or when they were out to lunch or supper. Mostly, their real talks were at night when it was too dark to work anymore and they sat by the fire with cups of tea or coffee. They talked about everything, or Yuffie did most of the talking, Vincent added in small things here and there.

What would surprise anyone the most was that both of them never talked about Vincent's turk days, Yuffie never asked, so he never told her. They both seemed fine in leaving the death, deception and Lucrecia in the past. Vincent once told her of how he became a Turk, after his other and sister died and he had been recruited shortly after at the age of 16.

Both had, amazingly, a lot of things in common considering the way they grew up. The first night had been awkward in which Yuffie had tentatively asked what race Vincent was; already knowing the answer. Yuffie and Vincent both shared a traditional Wutainese childhood, Yuffie until the war and Vincent until his mother died. They both ended up doing things they didn't want to, being a Turk, and being a Ninja with Princessly duties.

The thing they found the most interesting was that Yuffie's favorite place to go when she was a child to get away from her father or training was the same place Vincent ran away to when he didn't want to do what his father ordered him.

Both were severely punished upon coming back home, but they knew that if they ever wanted to escape, they would always go there. Yuffie had always believed that someone else had used that same spot overlooking Wutai before, but she had never met anyone in her childhood who actually knew of it.

In a way, Yuffie and Vincent were already connected before they even met.

Another thing they very easily evaded was the concept of the future since neither knew how long they would be alive for. It turned out that Vincent had started aging again normally shortly after Yuffie had ran into him after the Geostigma incident. Vincent was 25 years old body wise, when he should actually be about 58 or 59 due to his date of birth and all the years in that coffin.

Neither discussed his age except for the one time he told her he had started to age again, they were now only 5 years apart in relation to the 8 years they had once been. It was something Yuffie often thought about and was happy for, not that age really mattered to her at all. He was still the man she cared for above all else, she couldn't stop the way she felt, even though she tried to hide it.

§§§§§§§§

_What hurts the most _

_Is being so close _

_And having so much to say _

_And watching you walk away_

§§§§§§§§

Yuffie sighed and crawled out of bed, knowing that she would never be able to fall asleep with these thoughts running around in her skull. She knew she should hear Vincent's breathing from the room beside hers but she couldn't see anything in the pitch black the night had presented her with. She waited in the hallway for a spark of lightning to see if he was still in bed, after a few moments, her wish was granted and she saw that his covers had been pulled back and he wasn't asleep in bed.

That only left one option, he was downstairs.

She was worried that she wouldn't know what to say to him, she was so worried that she would let something slip. He seemed a bit standoffish lately and she most certainly didn't want to upset him or seem like she was prying.

She crept down the stairs, her ninja skills kicking in as she tip-toed down the stairs without making so much as a creak. It was an advantage of knowing which boards were newly done and wouldn't make a sound if she applied her weight to it.

Slowly, she peeked around the corner into the living room while she stood halfway down the steps. Sure enough he was standing against the window, gazing outside with a forlorn expression on his handsome features. She took another step down the stairs and watched him, waiting for some indication to what he was thinking about.

Vincent was trying to sort out his feelings, he knew that he was over her, and that he had moved on. Perhaps Lucrecia really wasn't the person he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with. Was there not a saying that for each person in the world there is only one other person you are truly meant to be with? It made him wonder if he had lost the person who was his other half, of if she was standing right in front of him, and has been for the past five years.

He had been so certain at the time that it was what he wanted, to spend the rest of his life with her. He wasn't used to thinking this way, his problematic thoughts had multiplied, he was scared of what she would say. She had always assured him that he was never a monster to her and that he was an important person in her life. But he had to stop and wonder if he was THAT important to her? Would she leave him if he asked her that, was she even ready?

§§§§§§§§

_And never knowing _

_What could have been _

_And not seeing that loving you _

_Is what I was trying to do_

§§§§§§§§

Funny thing was, he could see it, he could see living the rest of his now normal life with her. She didn't care about the demons in his head, or his metal claw instead of a hand, she would laugh at the things he told her Chaos said, and she would hold his mechanical hand.

He ran a hand through his hair and tried to clear his thoughts, he wanted to focus an all the good things that were happening. He knew that he should wait a little longer until he knew for sure that she cared about him in that way.

He smiled slightly, feeling better knowing about how he felt back then and how he felt right now; he wanted her to be happy. He HAD loved Lucrecia, but there was no doubt in his mind, he was madly in love with someone else now. She was all he wanted, he had lived with her for so long he couldn't imagine a ay without her. He wanted to be there for everything she was going through, he loved her quirky smiles, bouncy attitude, honesty, she wasn't drop dead gorgeous but he never really cared, she was the prettiest girl in his life.

Yuffie had always hinted that she would much rather let go of the past and live on because you can't go back, and all you're doing it wasting the here and now you DO have. The Ninja had a surprisingly mature outlook on life, and he knew she was right.

Feeling like he had to say it, he muttered a 'Sorry' to the woman forgotten and then pushed away from the window seal and felt himself tired enough to fall back asleep.

He didn't notice the sad stormy grey eyes that heard him whisper Lucrecia's name, nor did he see her scrambling back to her bedroom and crawling back into bed with her back facing him. She clutched her sheets and tried to take in normal deep breaths even though inside her heart was shattering into a million pieces.

Tears slid down her face, and she waited until she had heard him walk up the stairs until she led them fall. She heard his footsteps stop outside her door and then after a few moments they continued onto his own bedroom.

It would be a long time until Yuffie fell asleep, but she eventually did and was drowning in her own tears and sobs erupting in herthroat but never escaping her mouth in fear of waking up the man in the room beside her. She knew she could never stay there, she had lived through it until now and actually thought he cared about her, but that proved it. He still loved her and Yuffie would forever be alone, she made plans to leave in the morning.  
§§§§§§§§

_Oh,_

_Hey yeah_  
§§§§§§§§

Vincent was upearly the next morning out of habit, he opened the new cabinet and pulled out a glass before filling it up with water and taking a sip. He had never felt this at home since he was a small child living with his mother, it had a nice feeling it it.

He had decided that he would wait another month until he brought the idea of marrige upon Yuffie, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable this early. He thought that perhaps he would take her out tonight and tell her how he really felt. His chest beat with anticipation and he ignored Chaos' reply of 'It's about TIME you told her!'.

He gripped the glass and was about to put it down when he heard timid footsteps behind him, he turned around to find Yuffie leaning against the door frame. He watched her, but her vision was looking at the floor they were standing on, she couldn't bare to watch him as she poured out her heart and soul.

It was then that Vincent noticed that she had her travelling clothes on and her backpack was sitting beside her at her feet. It didn't take long for him to out two and two togther, he took a step towards her.

"Yuffie-"

She held up her hand to silence him and then she finally met his gaze, her eyes were red and sore as she held his own crimson stare. She looked like she hadn't gotten enough sleep last night and her hair and clothes were a mess as if she had tried to throw them on within a few minutes.  
§§§§§§§§

_What hurts the most _

_Is being **so** **close**- _  
§§§§§§§§

"Vincent, I... I can't do this, I know you still love her, I can't just stand here and let my heart be broken over and over again while I know that you'll never feel the same." She took in a deep breath and ripped her eyes away, he tried to force words out of his mouth to stop her but he could scarsely breath. "I'm... in love with you and these past months have been the best in my life, but... I just... I have to leave," She finished hurriedly and then grabbed her pack before bounding out of the kitchen and into the front room, she reached the front door, flung it open and ran outside.

Vincent didn't even had time to think, he dropped the glass and ran after, not even hearing as the glass hit the floor and shattered into pieces, the water spilt all across the floor. He ran outside after her and into the rain, it was a heavy downpour but there was no sound of thunder as Yuffie ran up the driveway.  
§§§§§§§§  
_And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away _  
§§§§§§§§

He caught her before she reached the road, grabbed her arm stopping her in her tracks and brought her to his chest. She was trembling as he held her there, her vision was blurred from the hot tears that mixed into the cold rain that hit her skin, mocking her it seemed.

He tried to think of anything to say to her, his mind was swimming,how could she think that he didn't love her? But now he knew what she really felt and he felt himself smiling as she stood there in his arms confused as hell; wondering why a man who didn't care for her was stopping her.

"Yuffie, who told you I didn't love you?"

Her breath caught in her throat as she jerked her head up to look at him, they were both soaking wet in a matter of seconds but neither cared. He offhandedly brushed away a few strands of hair that had clinged to her face with his mechanical hand. He tilted her chin and made her look into his eyes, he wanted to know why she felt this way, how could he not fall in love with her?

"W-what? B-but you were muttering her name last night when I came downstairs I-I know you were thinking about her you had this smile on your face and this far away look in your eyes-"

His thumb brushed over her mouth and she shut up instantly, she was breathing heavily as she watched for what he was going to do next.  
§§§§§§§§  
_And never knowing _

_What could have been _  
§§§§§§§§

"You're right Yuffie, I was thinking about Lucrecia last night, but perhaps not for the reason you assume," She bit her lip and tried to look away but he held her chin so she couldn't move. "Her memory was brought up because I have similar feelings for you as I did her." Her breath caught in her throat as she digested those words and their full meaning sunk in."In fact, even more feelings," She stared up at him shyly, he could feel it in the air and even though they were both soaking wet, he lowered his mouth to hers and finally got to taste Yuffie Kisaragi.

When he pulled away from her he wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her hair, "I've been trying to find a way to tell you for the past month..."

She quickly did the calculations and realized that that was around the time he had started acting really distant, she grinned at the thought that came to her.

"And here I thought you were just pmsing..."  
§§§§§§§§  
_And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was trying to do_  
§§§§§§§§

It didn't take long for Vincent to pick up Yuffie and bring her back into the house, he grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her body. He sat beside her still dripping wet and he heard an impatient sigh beside him, to turned to stare at her and she took the blanket off and ripped off her jacket that was still soaking wet before laying it on the chair beside her to dry. She then crawled over to him and began unclasping the buckles on his cape and before long that was off as well. She proceeded to take off his shirt but he stopped her and did it himself. She grinned and snuggled up to him, wrapping the blanket around both of them until she was in his lap.

Yuffie turned towards him and placed both legs on either side of him and into the back of the couch, straddling him, she tilted her head down and she kissed him again. This time, they both weren't soaking wet or clumsy, she leaned her elbows on the back of the couch beside his head and his hands tavelled up her body and then rested on the small of her back. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss, running his normal hand through her now shoulder length hair.

There was a knock on the door but neither of them heard it, it had become dark outside, yet the fire created a warm atmosphere around them. They were lost in their own little world together and didn't even hear the door opening or Tifa and Cid rushing into the room to get out of the storm brewing outside.

Tifa and Cid didn't know WHAT hit them when they entered into the warm mansion to get away from the cold dampness, both of them just stared as Yuffie was on top of Vincent Valentine, dripping wet in her clothes and he was as well. The blanket had slipped of her shoulders to reviel a rather see-through white t-shirt and from what they could tell, both had been out in the rain.

Tifa's jaw hung slack and her eyes bugged out of her head, all she wanted to do was come and tell her best friend that she was getting married, but burst in uninvited to see her making out with the dark vampire-like gunsman.

"AH HEM!" Cid cleared his throat loudly and Vincent and Yuffie broke apart.

Oh geez, that was awkward...  
§§§§§§§§  
_And not seeing that loving you_

That's what I was trying to do  
§§§§§§§§

It was a cool crisp night in which Yuffie was standing outside of Tifa's bar, watching the stars and the moon, allowing herself some time to reflect on her own. It had been two months since that day in the rain that they had confessed their love for one another and hadn't spent a day apart since. They still slept in different rooms, but some nights she would crawl into his bed and he would hold her though the night, she never wanted it to stop, now she knew how Tifa felt.

Suddenly, warm strong arms wrapped around her middle and she tiled her head back to see Crimson eyes peering down at her, she grinned and twisted around in his arms to face her.

"Hey you," He whispered, kissing her forehead and then marveling at the forest green dress she was wearing for Tifa and Reno's engagement party, "You look stunning,"

"Hey you," She mimicked him, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning into his touch, she sighed contently as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Yuffie, I have something I wanted to ask you," He pulled away from her and intertwined his fingers in hers, his eyes sought her stormy ones and she starred up at him. She tilted her head to the side and beckoned him to tell her what it was he needed her to answer. "Yuffie, You and I have lived together for about two years..." He trailed off pathetically, "I honestly don't know how I'm going to say this..."

Yuffie touched his cheek affectionately and put her forehead to his, she reached up with her other hand and twirled her fingers in his long raven hair. "Then just tell me, you've never been someone to dance around a subject..."

He took in a deep clensing breath and then took both of her hands in his, he kissed her mouth in a soft but quick kiss then whispered lovingly to her.

"I love you,"

Yuffie chuckled, "Well I know that silly, or else I wouldn't be here..."

Suddenly he reached into his pocket and swiftly knelt down onto one knee, Yuffie's hand shot up to her mouth, knowing what was coming next. Her other hand- her left hand, he held in his mechanical hand, as the other opened up the box and pulled out the ring. Tears sprung to her eyes as he held up the ring before her.

"Yuffie Kisaragi, will you marry me?"

All was quiet in the house as Tifa walked around offering everyone drinks, there were small conversations whispered here and there but no one was talking loud enough to break the calm feel of the night. Tifa was glowling as she showed Sherra her beautiful wedding band and Reno was talking with Cloud about the honeymoon he was planning.

Cid looked up and noticed that they were two heads short, he gazed around trying to pinpoint who was gone and then frowned and raised his voice to ask anyone in the room who would listen.

"Hey, where's the brat?" He called above the music and voices, everyone stopped what they were doing and began looking around for the ninja, "Come to think of it, where's Vince too?" Cid added, noticing the gunslingers absence as well and Tifa got up and worriedly asked if anyone had seen the leave.

Everything was interupted when an extremely loud yell echoed from the balconey.

"OH MY GODS! OF COURSE I WILL!"

Cid blinked a few times, he looked around at everyone grinning.

"Isn't that... ah... a bit soon?"

Cloud gave him a weird look, "And here I thought you'd say something like, 'It's about Fucking time'..."

Barret raised his beer in a salute and laughed heartilly as Cid sent Cloud an amazed look, no one expected the leader to swear so vibrantly, even if he was simply repeating what Cid's usual language was.

"Well then I'll say it! It's about fucking time those two tied the knot!" He raised his beer glass again, "Cheers to the new bride and groom!"

Tifa raised her glass and the others fallowed suit but Cid still had a perplexed expression.

"To which couple?"

Reno grinned, "Ah, who cares, it's a reason to drink, ain't it?"

"True dat!" Chorused Barret taking another swing.

"So, we're going to have little Tifa and Reno's running around, and maybe some Vincent and Yuffies..." Announced Reeve, after his sip from his glass, everyone aside from the engaged became sober and Reeve raised his glass to the ceiling in yet another toast, "To us! And may God help us all!"

"HEY!"  
-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-¤-  
Katori: Yes, I'll let you all 'AWE!' for a second... there... done?  
_Sin: Ew, that's so... sweet... and...sick... I fell like I'm going to hurl_  
Katori: Oh shut up, you know you liked it  
_Sin: AS IF! Now where's that paper bag..._  
Katori: PLEASE R&R! YOU READ IT SO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!


End file.
